An investigation on the microstructure and mechanical properties of direct-quenched and tempered AISI 4140 steel

Direct quenching (DQ) process is an appropriate method in steels heat treatment field. This method enhances production rate, reduces energy consumption and decreases environment contamination. In this study hot-rolled AISI 4140 steel billets with different diameters (75, 80, 85, 100, 105 and 115 mm) and 20 m length were quenched directly in a water tank. Also some samples with similar size and composition were provided by conventional reheating, quenching and tempering (RQ) heat treatment process. The quenched samples were tempered at the temperature of 630 °C for 2 h. Mechanical properties of heat treated samples including tensile strength, yield strength, elongation, hardness and impact toughness were measured. Also, the microstructure and harden-ability of this steel were investigated under various conditions and the results were compared to RQ heat treated products. The results showed that direct quenching and tempering processes (DQ–T) is due to enhance of mechanical properties such as tensile strength and harden-ability of AISI 4140 and it is affected by various parameters such as steel temperature before quenching, water temperature, quenching time and also billet size.     

Effect of heat treatment on mechanical and ballistic properties of a high strength armour steel

In the present study an ultra high strength armour steel was austenatised at 910°C followed by tempering at 200, 300, 400, 500 and 600°C. After heat treatment the properties of tensile strength, ductility, charpy impact strength, hardness and microstructure were evaluated from the mechanical tests and metallographic analysis respectively. The ballistic behavior of the heat-treated plates was evaluated impacting against non-deformable hard steel core projectiles at 840 ± 15 m/s at normal angle of attack. The changes in the microstructure and mechanical properties with heat treatment have been correlated with ballistic performance of the steel. Experimental results showed that 200°C tempering gives the best ballistic performance.     

The effect of heat treatment on the toughness, hardness and microstructure of low carbon white cast irons

The effect of destabilisation and subcritical heat treatment on the impact toughness, hardness, and the amount and mechanical stability of retained austenite in a low carbon white cast iron have been investigated. The experimental results show that the impact energy constantly increases when the destabilisation temperature is raised from 950°C to 1200°C. Although the hardness decreases, the heat-treated hardness is still greater than the as-cast state. After destabilisation treatment at 1130°C, tempering at 200 to 250°C for 3 hours leads to the highest impact toughness, and secondary hardening was observed when tempering over 400°C. The amount of retained austenite increased with the increase in the destabilisation temperature, and the treatment significantly improves the mechanical stability of the retained austenite compared with the as-cast state. Tempering below 400°C does not affect the amount of retained austenite and its mechanical stability. But the amount of retained austenite is dramatically reduced when tempered above 400°C. The relationship between the mechanical properties and the microstructure changes was discussed.     

Microstructure,mechanical properties and high stress abrasive wear behavior of air-cooled MnCrB cast steels

Three medium carbon low alloyed MnCrB cast steels containing different Cr contents (0.3%, 0.6%, and 1.2%) were designed and the effect of Cr contents on the microstructure, mechanical properties and high stress abrasive wear behavior of the cast steels after 850 °C air-cooling and 220 °C tempering was studied. The results show that the hardenability of the MnCrB cast steels was excellent. The microstructure of the cast steels with low Cr contents (0.3% or 0.6%) consists of granular bainite and lower bainite/martensite multiphase. With increasing of Cr content, the formability of martensite was improved, the hardness and wear-resistance increased, but the impact toughness decreased in that more bainite was replaced by martensite. The air-cooled MnCrB cast steel containing 0.6% Cr, with granular bainite and lower bainite/martensite multiphase, exhibited excellent combination of strength, hardness, ductility, and impact toughness. In addition, its abrasive wear-resistance was 30% more than that of Hadfield cast steel in the high stress abrasive wear condition. This air-cooled MnCrB cast steel by simple alloying scheme and heat treatment has the advantages of high-performance, low cost, and environmentally friendly. It is a potential advanced wear-resistant cast steel for low- or even medium-impact abrasive conditions.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of as-deposited and heat-treated additive manufactured 9Cr steel

Wire arc additive manufacturing technology has been applied to fabricate 9Cr ferritic/martensitic steel. The steel is widely used in the power industries because of good performances. The effects of different heat treatment conditions on microstructure, hardness, tensile properties, and Charpy impact toughness were investigated. The results show that the microstructure of the as-deposited condition consists of untempered lath martensitic with high strength and low toughness. It was found that heat treatment can change the microstructure characteristics. Moreover, samples after heat treatment have been observed with high elongation and impact toughness but relatively low hardness and tensile strength. The better combination of strength, ductility and microstructure were obtained for the normalising temperature of 1323?K and tempering temperature of 1033?K.     

Effect of ageing on the mechanical properties of directly quenched copper bearing microalloyed steels

The present work aims to study the ageing behaviour of directly quenched Cu-added microalloyed steels. Temperatures related to precipitation of Cu and recovery of dislocations retained in the microstructure after quenching of the steels from finish rolling temperature are determined by differential scanning calorimetric method. Ageing of the directly quenched steels has resulted in the reduction in hardness and strength with concomitant improvement of ductility. 1.5 wt% Cu-added Ti–B microalloyed steel has yielded the most attractive combination of strength and ductility. Presence of Ni in the 1.5 wt% Cu-added Ti–B microalloyed steel indicates sluggish kinetics of Cu precipitation. Ageing has generally deteriorated the impact toughness except for Ni containing Cu-added microalloyed steel above −25 °C temperature. Formation of recovered dislocation cells and fine ?-Cu precipitates during ageing have contributed to the microstructural softening and hardening, respectively.     

Development of carbon—Low alloy steel grades for low temperature applications

Low alloy steels are processed to fulfill the requirements of low temperature applications. Besides the chemical composition, the steel should receive a suitable heat treatment to ensure the targeted mechanical properties at low temperature. In other words, the steels are designed to delay the ductile to brittle transition temperature to resist dynamic loading at subzero temperatures. Steel alloys processed for liquefied gas pipeline fittings are examples for applications that need deep subzero impact transition temperature (ITT).The main purpose of the present work was to find a suitable heat treatment sequence for alloys LC2 and LC2-1. Further, it aimed to correlate the impact toughness with the microstructure and the fracture surface at different sub-zero temperatures.The steels under investigation are carbon-low alloy grades alloyed with Ni, Cr and Mo. LC2 steel alloy has been successfully processed and then modified to LC2-1 alloy by addition of Cr and Mo. Oil quenching from 900 °C followed by tempering at 595 °C was used for toughness improvements. Hardness, tensile and impact tests at room temperature have been carried out. Further impact tests at subzero temperatures were conducted to characterize alloys behavior. Metallographic as well as SEM fractographic coupled with XRD qualitative analysis are also carried out.Non-homogenous martensite-ferrite cast structure in LC2 was altered to homogeneous tempered martensite structure using quenching-tempering treatment, which is leading to shift the ITT down to −73 °C. Addition of Cr and Mo creates a very fine martensitic structure in LC2-1 alloy. Quenching-tempering of LC2-1 accelerates ITT to −30 °C. It is expected that the steel was subjected to temper embrittlement as a result of phosphorus segregation on the grain boundary due to Cr and Mo alloying, as it was concluded in reference no. [6].     

Austempering of spheroidal graphite cast iron

We study gray spherulitic cast iron, its microstructure, hardness ultimate strength in tension, elongation, and impact toughness as functions of the duration of isothermal austenitizing in the bainite region at 350 and 400°C after austenitizing at 900°C. As the temperature of quenching increases from 350 to 400°C, the microstructure of the analyzed cast iron changes from lower to higher bainite and the amount of retained austenite increases (its maximum is attained after 1 h). At the same time, the ultimate strength in tension and hardness decrease, whereas the elongation and fracture toughness increase.Published in Fizyko-Khimichna Mekhanika Materialiv, Vol. 40, No. 4, pp. 79–83, July–August, 2004.     

Enhancement of the mechanical properties of EN52CrMoV4 spring steel by deep cryogenic treatment

The effect of the deep cryogenic treatment on the micro-structure and mechanical properties (tensile strength, toughness, residual stress and fatigue strength) of the medium carbon spring steel, which is subjected to different heat treatment steps, is investigated. Deep cryogenic treatment causes spring steel to keep compressive residual stress more efficiently due to an increase in the density of the crystalline defects, retardation in the stress relief after the phase transformations and nano-cluster carbide formations. If deep cryogenic treatment is applied before the tempering then the homogeneously distributed fine carbides form after the tempering and the grains remain relatively fine. The microstructure with homogeneously distributed fine carbides and fine grains cause spring steels to have simultaneously enhanced tensile strength, ductility and fatigue strength. If deep cryogenic treatment is applied after the conventional heat treatment (quenching+tempering), however, the coarse carbides form in the micro-structure and the improvement in the mechanical properties of the spring steel is limited.     

Einfluß des Anlassens auf Gefüge und Härte warmfester 9%Cr-Stähle

Influence of tempering on microstructure and hardness of high-temperature 9%Cr-steels The influences of temperature and duration of tempering on hardness and microstructure were investigated at high-temperature martensitic and low-carbon steels with 9% chrome and the further alloying elements molybdenium, vanadium, niobium and partially tungsten. After austenitizing and subsequent air cooling the steels were tempered at temperatures below, at and above Ac_1b for different times and finally a hardness test was performed. Making use of the temperature dependence of the hardness tempering diagrams were constructed and the Hollomon-Jaffe-Parameter on the three steels was determined within its application limits. Micrographs of the structure shows the formation of the carbides and the martensite. At tempering temperatures below Ac_1b a decrease of hardness occurs, above Ac_1b, a hardness rise due to the partial austenitizing was obtained. While hardening below Ac_1b, the tempering quality increases from P 91, NF 616 to E 911.     

热处理工艺对连铸10CrNi3MoV钢性能的影响

针对高温热成型及正常调质处理后连铸10CrNi3MoV钢性能恶化这一问题,研究了循环/亚温淬火热处理工艺,进行了力学性能测试、显微组织观察及晶粒度评定.结果表明,采用亚温淬火( 835℃×2h+ 820℃×2h)+高温回火(630℃×3h)热处理工艺,可有效细化连铸10CrNi3MoV钢的晶粒,显著改善其低温韧性,使其...     

The tempering behavior of granular structure in a Mn-series low carbon steel

The granular structure in a Mn-series low carbon steel composed of ferrite matrix and martensite-austenite islands does not exhibit temper brittleness which is quite different from common microstructures in steels. This characteristic facilitates the performance optimization through adjusting tempering temperature. A good combination of tensile strength (750-1000 MPa) and impact toughness (Aku, 138-154 J) can be obtained after quenching and tempering at 400 °C for a round billet with 250 mm in diameter.     

Effect of tempering temperatures on microstructures and properties of 0.28C–0.22Ti wear-resistant steel

The microstructures and properties of a 0.28C–0.22Ti low-alloy wear-resistant steel at different temperatures from 200 to 600°C was experimentally studied. It is shown that the wear resistance of the steel is not monotone changing with its hardness and strength. With the increase of the tempering temperature, the tensile strength and the hardness of the steels were gradually declined; however, the wear resistance was first decreased and then increased. The TiC particles can be divided into two classes: the small TiC particles (about 0.3–0.4?µm in diameter) and the coarse TiC particles (1–5?µm in diameter). The small TiC particles can improve the yield strength of the steels, and the coarse TiC particles can improve the wear resistance of the tested steels.     

Effect of heat treatment on the fracture toughness of low alloy steels

The relationships between the austenitizing temperature, the quenching medium, and the plane strain fracture toughness have been investigated for the following quenched and tempered low alloy commercial steels: 4130, 4330, 4140, 4340, 300-M and 3140. The specimens were tested in both the as quenched condition, and after tempering at temperatures up to 390°C. By increasing the austenitizing temperature from 870°C to 1200°C, the fracture toughnesses of these alloys was significantly increased and for some alloys increasing the severity of the quench from oil to ice brine, when used after austenitizing at 1200°C, led to still further increases in the fracture toughness. Using a ‘step quench’, which consisted of auitenitizing at 1200°C for 1 hr followed by furnace cooling to 870°C and holding for $\text{1}\text{2}$hr before quenching, did not, in general, result in as high a fracture toughness as when the specimens were directly quenched from 1200°C. Associated with the increase in toughness were changes in both the microstructure and the fracture morphology. Alloys 4130, 4340, 4140, and 3140, showed severe intergranular embrittlement when austeoitized at 1200°C and tempered above 200°C, while alloys 4330 and 300-M did not.     

热处理对C12A耐热钢的组织与性能影响

通过对铸造C12A耐热钢进行热处理,观察其微观组织,测定其力学性能。试验结果表明：正（淬）火组织为板条马氏体＋部分针状马氏体＋少量残余奥氏体,其硬度比较高,塑性和韧性不是很好;正（淬）火＋回火组织为回火马氏体,其硬度不是很高,塑性和韧性比较好,具有良好的综合性能;退火组织为铁素体,其硬度低,塑性和韧性高;通过正火＋回火,研究回火温度对其微观组织和力学性能的影响。试验结果表明：回火温度对C12A钢的组织和性能有较大影响,其硬度随回火温度的升高呈先降后升趋势。     

Influence of deep-cryogenic treatment on wear resistance of vacuum heat-treated HSS

In this paper we compare the wear behaviour of a vacuum heat-treated ESR AISI M2 high-speed steel and the same steel that was vacuum heat treated in conjunction with a deep-cryogenic treatment at −196 °C. Four different tempering temperatures for the specimens austenized at the same austenitizing temperature were carefully selected to obtain various in-advance-determined combinations of the Rockwell-C hardness and the fracture toughness K_Ic. Each of the eight specimens was therefore characterised by these two resulting material properties. The wear behaviours were then compared and discussed in terms of these two properties and the related microstructures. The differences in the wear resistance obtained in our investigation were as high as an order of magnitude. However, the beneficial effects are not a direct result of the type of the treatment, but relate to a proper combination of the resulting fracture toughness and the hardness. The more uniform and moderate (but sufficiently high) values, which tend to be obtained with a deep-cryogenic treatment, are beneficial to the high wear resistance of the selected high-speed steel.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of 780 MPa high strength steels produced by direct-quenching and tempering process

Microstructure and mechanical properties of 780 MPa grade steel plate manufactured by conventional reheat-quenching and tempering (RQ-T) and direct-quenching and tempering (DQ-T) processes were investigated. The DQ process was found to enhance the hardenability of steel effectively so that tensile strengths of a range from 780 to 860 MPa have been achieved using DQ-T process, while tensile strength of about 770 MPa has been obtained from the RQ-T sample. In contrast, low temperature toughness of DQ-T samples was generally inferior to that of RQ-T sample, unless hot rolling and cooling processes were optimized in a controlled manner. For example, fracture appearance transition temperature (FATT) of DQ-T samples was varied in a range from –50°C to –120°C, while RQ-T specimens exhibited nearly constant FATT of about –80°C. The finish-rolling temperature (FRT) was one of potential process parameters to determine strength/toughness balance of the steel manufactured by DQ process, while the effect of FRT was closely associated with the cooling rate applied in the process. It has been demonstrated that, for the specimens quenched with a cooling rate higher than 20°C/sec, it may seem to be appropriate to adjust the FRT as low as possible in the non-recrystallization region. In contrast, for the specimens quenched with a low cooling rate of less than 10°C/sec, it may seem to be proper to apply higher FRT to obtain excellent strength/toughness balance of the steel.     

Austenitic grain size evolution and continuous cooling transformation diagrams in vanadium and titanium microalloyed steels

The evolution of the austenitic grain size in medium carbon steels microalloyed with vanadium and titanium was studied as a function of reheating temperature, heating rate, and titanium content. High resolution dilatometric techniques were used to determine the continuous cooling transformation (CCT) diagrams for two different austenitization temperatures. The microstructure and hardness were determined for different cooling rates. The results revealed a significant effect of titanium concentration on the austenitic grain growth control. The smallest grain size was found in the steel with a Ti concentration = 0.019 wt%. Low heating rates produced smaller grain sizes than high heating rates although an abnormal grain growth took place. In these steels, at temperatures above 1050 °C the influence of the reheating temperature on their hardness for cooling rates around 2 °C · s^–1 was negligible. The higher reheating temperatures caused a slight increase in their hardenability. Finally, it was found that the greater the titanium content, the greater the hardness of these steels, but only when the titanium percentages were higher than 0.020 wt%.     

Influence of heat treatments on toughness and sensitization of a Ti-alloyed supermartensitic stainless steel

Supermartensitic steels are a new class of martensitic stainless steels developed to obtain higher corrosion resistance and better toughness through the reduction of carbon content, and addition of Ni and Mo. They were developed to more critical applications or to improve the performance obtained with conventional grades AISI 410, 420, and 431. In this study, the influences of the tempering parameters on the microstructure, mechanical properties (hardness and toughness), and sensitization of a Ti-alloyed supermartensitc stainless steel were investigated. The material showed temper embrittlement in the 400–600 °C range, as detected by low temperature (−46 °C) impact tests. The degree of sensitization measured by double loop reactivation potentiodynamic tests increased continuously with the increase of tempering temperature above 400 °C. Healing due to Cr diffusion at high tempering temperatures was not observed. Double tempered specimens showed high amounts (>20%) of reverse austenite but their toughness were similar to specimens single tempered at 625 and 650 °C.     

The affect of densification and dehydroxylation on the mechanical properties of stoichiometric hydroxyapatite bioceramics

This paper reports the effects of processing densification on the mechanical properties of hydroxyapatite bioceramics. Densification of synthetic hydroxyapatite is conducted in the range 1000-1300 °C. X-ray diffraction and SEM microscopy are used to check the microstructure transformations. Vickers hardness, toughness and Young's modulus are analyzed versus the density and grain size. The sintering temperature and the particle size influence strongly the densification and the resulting mechanical properties. In addition, the critical sintering temperature appears around 1200 °C and the declined strength at the temperature up to 1200 °C is found sensitive to the dehydroxylation process of hydroxyapatite.